Draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy
Fran Smith; Senior Planning Officer, Planning Policy and Projects will provide an overview of Bury’s first local Flood Risk Management Strategy.
Minutes:
The Township Forum received a presentation from Fran Smith, Senior Planning Officer, Planning Policy and projects. The presentation provided an overview of Bury’s First Local Flood Risk Management strategy.
The Strategy is a document that contains various policies that will be used as the basis for making decisions on flood risk management. The Document sets out the roles and responsibilities of risk management within the Borough.
The Senior Planning Officer reported that the Strategy would aim to improve the understanding of flood risk from all sources in Bury and manage the likelihood of flooding within the Borough.
The Senior Planning Officer reported that she wanted to ensure that the Council’s analysis of flood risk matches local experience.
Questions were invited from those present at the meeting and the following points were raised:-
The Senior Planning Officer reported that responsibility for surface water flooding had transferred from the Environment Agency to the Local Authority. There are no concerns in relation to surface water flooding in the Bury west Township Area.
The area surrounding Our Lady of Lourdes had been indentified as a potential area of concern, and this would be investigated further.
CouncillorFrith left the meeting.
The Senior Planning Officer reported that a planning application would only be allowed in a flood plain in exceptional circumstances. Every development above a hector would have to undergo a flood risk assessment.
Members of the public expressed concern in relation to disused, under ground water culverts around the site of an old paper mill in Church ward. The Senior Planning Officer asked members of the public to get involved and complete comment cards as part of the consultation process.
The senior Planning Officer reported that the consultation on the Draft local Flood Risk Management Strategy would run from the 2nd September until the 14th October 2013.
It was agreed:
The Senior Planning Officer be thanked for her attendance.